SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — To prepare for the revelry of the Greatest Show on Grass, otherwise known as the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Pat Perez threw a big party at his home near TPC Scottsdale on Tuesday.

He did so again on Thursday, probably will Saturday, too.

That's just Perez's way. His doors are always open even when he's despondent, as he was after falling one stroke short in last week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he worked as a kid. And throwing a party this week only seems natural since the Phoenix Open is the largest party on the PGA Tour, where an expected 525,000 will scream, cheer, boo, suntan, kick back — and kick back a few alcoholic beverages.

"I'm not a guy that sits by himself in the dark and watches Golf Channel," Perez said after firing a 6-under-par 65 in Thursday's first round of the Phoenix Open. "I've always got sports on. I've got people always going in and out of the house. Just always been that way for me. It's not a distraction. I get totally away from everything.

"I just love having all my buddies around and everything."

That's the general feeling at TPC Scottsdale, where the weekend party will include celebrations of distance and red numbers. With the ball soaring in the heat of the Valley of the Sun on a course that favors bombers, par isn't exactly coveted. Last year, Phil Mickelson won with a score of 28 under. That might be surpassed if the first round is an indication.

The ultimate bomber, Bubba Watson, who hit a 350-yard drive on the final hole and had a 7-iron into the green for his second shot on the par-5 third, grabbed a share of the lead with Y.E. Yang at 64, one shot ahead of seven players, including Perez and Harris English, two guys who can certainly move the ball a long way. A large group at 66 includes Hunter Mahan and Keegan Bradley, who can regularly bust the 300-yard barrier.

Yet the shortest shots on the course — the ones taken with the putter — will decide the tournament, Watson said.

"Last week, par was your friend," said Watson, whose last win came in the 2012 Masters. "This week we know going in that you have to make birdies. If you can shoot 5 under each day, you're playing well.

"I've been hitting the ball really well, so getting the putts to drop is the key."

In all, 50 players in the field of 132 shot in the 60s. Play was halted at 5:59 p.m. local time due to darkness with 12 players on the course. Of those, three were under par.

"You know you're going to have to shoot three, four really good rounds," Bradley said. "Hopefully you shoot three good ones and one really good low one is normally how it works. This is a good start."

"This is a place where you have to give yourself plenty of looks and plenty of chances," said Mahan, who won here in 2010. "There are a lot of good players here who can go really low."

One really good player didn't go low — Phil Mickelson, who said his aching back caused him no trouble during a round of 71. Mickelson, who got daily treatment on his back since last Saturday, decided Wednesday night he was fit enough to defend his title here. His game, however, was not sharp.

"It doesn't feel far off," Mickelson said of his game. "The back feels great. I should be able to come out (Friday) and have a good round."